Karl Fredrik Henrik Åkesson is a Swedish
heavy metal guitarist. He is a current member of
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. The band incorporates folk music, folk, blues, classical music, classical, and jazz elements into its usually lengthy compositions, as well as strong influences from deat ...
and is also active in
Krux, Monsters of Metal, and
Talisman. He also recorded three studio albums with
Ghost
In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...
.
Biography
Åkesson has been playing guitar since the age of 12. His early musical influences include Michael Schenker, Uli Jon Roth, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Norum, Gary Moore, and George Lynch.
Marcel Jacob, founder of
Talisman, held auditions in 1992 to find a new guitar player after Jason Bieler left them to play with
Saigon Kick
Saigon Kick is an American hard rock band from Coral Springs, FL, that formed in 1988. When they recorded their debut album and second album the band consisted of lead vocalist Matt Kramer, lead guitarist Jason Bieler, bassist Tom Defile, ...
; the 19-year-old Åkesson was selected for the position. He spent almost four years with
Talisman and after five records decided to leave them for a heavier outfit. Åkesson, Mats Levén, John Levén, and Rickard Evensand formed a band called Eyeball who would later change their name to Southpaw. In 1998, Åkesson appeared on two albums: Southpaw's debut album and ''Naïve'' by
Clockwise. He also recorded a version of Journey's classic "
Send Her My Love" with Clockwise for a tribute album that was never released.
Åkesson returned to record and tour with
Talisman. They worked on two new studio efforts: ''
Cats and Dogs'' (2003) and ''
7'' (2006) plus a live album called ''
Five Men Live'' (2005) which was released on DVD as ''World's Best Kept Secret.'' In 2004, Åkesson filled in for
Tiamat
In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( or , ) is the primordial sea, mating with Abzû (Apsu), the groundwater, to produce the gods in the Babylonian epic '' Enûma Elish'', which translates as "when on high". She is referred to as a woman, an ...
guitarist Thomas Petersson on tour and was featured in ''The Church of Tiamat'' DVD release in 2006. He also appeared on the Sabbtail album ''Night Church'', again with Mats Levén.
Åkesson co-wrote two tracks on the album ''
Optimus'' by
John Norum and appeared in the recordings. He also played with
melodic death metal band
Arch Enemy
Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a Supergroup (music), supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass (band), Carcass, Armageddon (Swedish band), Armageddon, Carnage (band), Carna ...
from 2005 to 2007, having been recruited when original Arch Enemy guitarist
Christopher Amott took an 18-month break from September 2005 until his return in March 2007. Åkesson also played on the
Krux album ''
II'', released in 2006. In 2007, he appeared with Krux in the
Sweden Rock Festival.
On 17 May 2007, the progressive death metal band
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. The band incorporates folk music, folk, blues, classical music, classical, and jazz elements into its usually lengthy compositions, as well as strong influences from deat ...
announced that Åkesson would replace departed guitarist
Peter Lindgren. Åkesson's first tour with the band was the Progressive Nation Tour with
Dream Theater and
Between the Buried and Me. Åkesson's first album with Opeth was ''
Watershed'' (2008) in which he co-wrote the song "Porcelain Heart" with
Mikael Åkerfeldt. The album ''
Heritage
Heritage may refer to:
History and society
* A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...
'' was released in September 2011, also with one song (the bonus track "Pyre") co-written by Åkesson.
In 2018, he contributed a guitar solo to black metal musician
Ihsahn
Vegard Sverre Tveitan (born 10 October 1975), better known by his stage name Ihsahn ( ), is a Norwegian musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer who is best known for his work with the black metal band Emperor (Norwegian band ...
's seventh solo studio album ''Ámr'', on the track "Arcana Imperii".
Endorsements
Åkesson had an endorsement arrangement with
ESP Guitars which continued into 2007. He also had his own signature model.
Since joining Opeth, Åkesson switched to
PRS Guitars
Paul Reed Smith Guitars, also known as PRS Guitars or simply PRS, is an American guitar and amplifier manufacturer founded in 1985 in Annapolis, Maryland by Paul Reed Smith. After dropping out of college, Smith began making guitars by hand and ...
with Marshall JVM 410 amps and cabs. In the "Porcelain Heart" videoclip he can be seen using a PRS
Mark Tremonti Signature guitar. In 2009, he switched to Blackstar Amplification, using the Series One 200. In addition to his Blackstar amps, he uses Fractal Audio's Axe FX effects processor. Åkesson left Blackstar in 2012, switching his endorsement to Marshall amps. In 2011, PRS guitars produced his signature model PRS.
Discography
With
Ghost
In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...
* ''
Impera'' (2022)
*
''Phantomime'' (2023)
* ''
Skeletá'' (2025)
With
Opeth
Opeth is a Swedish progressive metal band from Stockholm, formed in 1990. The band incorporates folk music, folk, blues, classical music, classical, and jazz elements into its usually lengthy compositions, as well as strong influences from deat ...
* ''
Watershed'' (2008)
* ''
In Live Concert at the Royal Albert Hall'' (2010)
* ''
Heritage
Heritage may refer to:
History and society
* A heritage asset A heritage asset is an item which has value because of its contribution to a nation's society, knowledge and/or culture. Such items are usually physical assets, but some countries also ...
'' (2011)
* ''
Pale Communion'' (2014)
* ''
Sorceress
A sorceress is a female practitioner of sorcery (disambiguation), sorcery. Other uses include:
Film
* Sorceress (1982 film), ''Sorceress'' (1982 film), a fantasy film directed by Jack Hill
* Sorceress (1987 film), ''Sorceress'' (1987 film) releas ...
'' (2016)
* ''
Garden of the Titans: Live at Red Rocks Amphitheater'' (2018)
* ''
In Cauda Venenum'' (2019)
* ''
The Last Will and Testament'' (2024)
With Krux
* ''
Krux'' (2003)
* ''Live (DVD)'' (2003)
* ''
II'' (2006)
*''He Who Sleeps Amongst the Stars (2011)''
With
Arch Enemy
Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a Supergroup (music), supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass (band), Carcass, Armageddon (Swedish band), Armageddon, Carnage (band), Carna ...
* ''
Live Apocalypse'' (DVD, 2006)
With
Tiamat
In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( or , ) is the primordial sea, mating with Abzû (Apsu), the groundwater, to produce the gods in the Babylonian epic '' Enûma Elish'', which translates as "when on high". She is referred to as a woman, an ...
* ''Church of Tiamat'' (DVD, 2005)
With John Norum
* ''
Optimus'' (2005)
With Sabbtail
* ''Night Church'' (2004)
With Talisman
* ''
Genesis'' (1993)
* ''
Humanimal Part II'' (1994)
* ''
Humanimal'' (1994)
* ''
Five out of Five (Live in Japan)'' (1994)
* ''
Life
Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'' (1995)
* ''Best of...'' (Compilation, different from above) (1996)
* ''BESTerious'' (Compilation) (1996)
* ''
Cats and Dogs'' (2003)
* ''
Five Men Live'' (2005)
* ''
7'' (2006)
CD singles and promos with Talisman
* "Mysterious (This Time Is Serious)" (CD single) (1993)
* "Time After Time" (CD single) (1993)
* "Doing Time with My Baby" (CD single) (1994)
* "Colour My XTC" (CD single) (1994)
* "Todo y Todo" (CD single) (All + All Latin American market release under nickname Genaro) (1994)
* "All + All" (CD single) (1994)
* "Frozen" (CD single) (1995)
With Human Clay
* ''Human Clay'' (1996)
* ''Closing the Book on Human Clay'' (2003)
With Southpaw
* ''SouthPaw'' (1998)
With Clockwise
* ''Naïve'' (1998)
References
External links
Opeth official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akesson, Fredrik
Swedish death metal musicians
Musicians from Stockholm
Swedish heavy metal guitarists
Arch Enemy members
Talisman (band) members
Opeth members
Swedish lead guitarists
1972 births
Living people
Krux members